Real Hope: Relationship With GodSample

Communication

How do you view your relationship with God? Is it one where you do all the talking, and He listens? Does it go both ways? Do you just shout into the air at Him when you feel like you need to get His attention?

Prayer is a big part of the Christian life. It’s the time when we ‘cast all our anxieties on Him’, we ponder scripture and invite Him to speak to us through it, and listen as He guides our heart.

Just as in human relationships, though, I think there are times when we can get slack with how we communicate. Maybe we give God ‘the silent treatment’ when we feel like He isn’t listening, or we don’t feel like we know what to say to Him in the messiness of our situation.

Unlike our other relationships, the thing with God is that He already knows what we’re thinking and feeling and doesn’t need us to get the words right for the exchange to be worthwhile.

Honesty is valuable in communication, and sometimes I think it’s all God wants from us too. To say, ‘God, I don’t get it.’ ‘God, I’m really angry with you.’ ‘God, I’m grateful, but I still feel unhappy – why?’

In Romans, Paul instructs us to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.’ If that’s the kind of character God wants us to exemplify with each other, it speaks to the character He demonstrates toward us: whether rejoicing or mourning, God wants to be alongside us in all of it. And, as in all healthy relationships, He’s here for the good times and the bad. When you’re communicating with God, don’t think you have to shield anything from Him – He’s with us through it all.

Written by LAURA BENNETT